Will Dan Bylsma be the fall guy for the uber-talented Pittsburgh Penguins if they once again underachieve in the post-season?

Make no mistake. Bylsma is a quality bench boss. He definitely was a deserving recipient of the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach back in 2010-11, a season in which injuries limited superstars Evgeni Malkin to just 43 games and Sidney Crosby to 41.

At the same time, you have to wonder what is going through owner Mario Lemieux’s mind watching his team struggle against the underdog Columbus Blue Jackets. Should his skilled Penguins suffer yet another playoff disappointment, especially if they are upset here in the first round by Todd Richards’ spunky Jackets, Super Mario might be in the mood to make some moves and stir the pot.

Here’s why.

This is Crosby’s ninth season in the NHL, Malkin’s eighth. Over that time, they have hoisted the Stanley Cup just once, that coming during the 2009 campaign.

Interestingly, the man who coached the Penguins to that title was Bylsma, who replaced Michel Therrien behind the Pens bench in February 2009 and helped the franchise win its third Stanley Cup. Byslma was only 38 at the time of his hiring, making him the youngest coach in the NHL at the time of his appointment.

But since that memorable night at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena almost five years ago, the Pens post-season woes are evident by the numbers. Tied with the Jackets at two games apiece heading into Game 5 Saturday in Pittsburgh, the Penguins own just a 22-23 post-season mark after capturing the Cup in ‘09.

Part of that sub-.500 mark can be attributed to the deterioration in the playoffs of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the scapegoat of Game 4 who is just 18-20 in the post-season since ’09.

Another spring meltdown by the Penguins could cause the Penguins to look in another direction in terms of goaltending, opting to turn the page on the Fleury chapter of the team’s history.

At the same time, Bylsma could be a victim of a potential housecleaning by Lemieux, a possibility that will definitely increase if the Jackets eliminate them.

To have won just one Stanley Cup in almost a decade of having Crosby and Malkin on the roster certainly has left Penguins fans wanting more. And it’s a good bet that Super Mario feels the same.

THE AVS AND THE AV-NOTS

Whatever happens to the Colorado Avalanche in their first-round series against the Minnesota Wild, their cache of young talent certainly indicates a bright future in the Mile High City.

Of course, accruing such talent can be attributed to the number of times the Avs have picked in the Top 5 of the NHL’s entry draft, a skill grab that has netted Colorado Nathan MacKinnon (first overall), Gabriel Landeskog (second overall) and Matt Duchene (third overall).

But give the Avs scouts credit. They stole Ryan O’Reilly in the second round in 2009 and plucked promising defenceman Tyson Barrie — the kid knocked out of action for at least four weeks by Matt Cooke’s knee earlier this week — 63rd overall in that same ’09 draft.

Consider that, over that same period, the Edmonton Oilers have owned the first overall pick three times and still have yet to get a sniff of playoff hockey.

Here is a look at some of the high draft picks made by both teams in the past six years. Who would you give the edge to?

In the first eight minutes of Game 4 between the Wings and Bruins on Thursday, Detroit coach Mike Babcock might have wondered if his team needs to practice shooting drills on Friday. In that span, Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk and Darren Helm all had wide open chances in front of Tuukka Rask — and all missed the net ... The enigmatic Franzen entered Game 4 having scored just once in his previous 21 games ... Here’s a scene right out of Trading Places: When Bruins teammate Dougie Hamilton got mixed in some extra-curricular activity with the Wings’ Justin Abdelkader in the first period, Milan Lucic was one of the first Boston players on the scene to calm his young teammate down. Lucic a voice of reason for the Bruins? What is wrong with this picture? ... Wings goalie Jonas Gustavsson deserves credit for refining his game, but he still shows signs of the same warts he had with the Leafs — he’s a scary puckhandler and, now and then, has a penchant for kicking out juicy rebounds.

LAST MINUTE OF PLAY

San Jose’s Antti Niemi, who helped the Hawks to the championship in 2010, has enjoyed the playoffs thus far, at least through the first three games of San Jose’s first round series against the Los Angeles Kings.

For the three other goalies in these playoffs who previously were starters that led their teams to Stanley Cups, it has been a struggle.

Entering Game 4 versus the Kings on Thursday, Niemi had a 3-0 record. Meanwhile, the Kings’ Jonathan Quick (0-3), the Hawks’ Corey Crawford (2-2) and the Penguins Fleury (2-2) had combined for a 4-7 record.

To this point, having won a Cup as a starting goalie in past years was not giving these three guys any kind of edge.